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Explosive Growth in Government Jobs

Homeland Security

Yes, it is true that Obama will be overseeing the eventual removal of US troops from Iraq – but don’t make the mistake of thinking that Obama is going to drastically cut Military and Homeland Security funding. Quite the contrary, Obama has stated that the Department of Homeland Security will continue to be the primary enforcer of our country’s safety. A terrorist attack would be utterly devastating for the Democratic party, and Obama knows this.

We can expect, however, that many of the ultra-high salaries (GS-15 and above) being paid to Transportation Security Administration employees (under the DHS) will be slashed, leaving room for growth on lower-level pay scales. Many Republicans have also advocated to take a closer look at the Management structure of TSA, and to make cuts where necessary (Source: <a href= “http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1108/110408nj1.htm”>GovExec.com)

Here’s some detail on what we can expect:

National Infrastructure Protection Plan: Create a National Infrastructure Protection Plan: Barack Obama’s Department of Homeland Security will develop an effective critical infrastructure protection and resiliency plan for the nation and will work with the private sector to ensure that targets are protected against both natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

Secure our Chemical Plants: Chemical plants are potential terrorist targets because they are often located near cities, are relatively easy to attack, and contain multi-ton quantities of hazardous chemicals. As president, Barack Obama will work with all stakeholders to enact permanent federal chemical security regulations.

Improve Airline Security: Barack Obama believes we must redouble our efforts to determine if the measures implemented since 9/11 are adequately addressing the threats our nation continues to face from airplane-based terrorism. Airline passengers are still not screened against a comprehensive terrorist watch list. Such a list must be developed and used in a way that safeguards passengers’ privacy while ensuring the safety of air travel.

Safeguard Public Transportation: Every weekday, Americans take 34 million trips on public transportation systems to get to work, school and beyond. Despite recent international attacks on mass transit systems, the Bush administration has invested only a small fraction of the $6 billion that transportation officials have said is necessary to implement needed security improvements. Barack Obama will fill this critical hole in our homeland security network.

Improve Border Security: Americans know that our national border security system is broken, leaving our country vulnerable. Barack Obama will support the virtual and physical infrastructure and manpower necessary to secure our borders and keep our nation safe.

(Source: http://www.barackobama.com/issues/)

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